Raja Raja Chola-ppt

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POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENT OF RAJA RAJA CHOLA Class-B. A-II nd Semester & M. A.- IV Semester Paper Code/Name Paper Code/Name BAA -112 & DCC 8 Political history of South India Dr. Sunita Yadav Assistant Professor Deptt. Of AIHC & Archaeology Arya Mahila P.G. College Varanasi

Transcript of Raja Raja Chola-ppt

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POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENT OF RAJA RAJA CHOLA

Class-B. A-II nd Semester&

M. A.- IV Semester

Paper Code/Name –Paper Code/Name –BAA -112 & DCC 8

Political history of South India

Dr. Sunita YadavAssistant Professor

Deptt. Of AIHC & ArchaeologyArya Mahila P.G. College Varanasi

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Political map of Chola dynasty

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BRIEF HISTORY

Raja Raja was born in 947 in Aipassi month on the day of Sadhayam star.

He was the third child of Parantaka Sundara Chola and VanavanMaha Devi

of the Velir Malayaman dynasty and was named Arulmozhi Varman. He

had an elder brother Aditya Karikalan and an elder sister Kundavai. Aditya

Karikalan, the crown prince was assassinatedin suspiciouscircumstancesKarikalan, the crown prince was assassinatedin suspiciouscircumstances

in 969. After the death of Aditya, Sundara Chola announced that Uttama

Chola will succeed him to the throne. Arulmozhivarman ascended the

throne after the death of Uttama Chola in 985. The Thiruvalangadu copper-

plate inscriptions state that Raja Raja was elected througha democratic

process followed by the Cholas. ****

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*** Raja Raja's adopted nameRaja Raja literally means "King of

Kings". He was also known asRajaraja Sivapada Sekhara (he who

had the feet of Lord Shiva as his crown). His elder sister Kundavai

Pirāttiyār assisted Raja Raja in administration and management of

temples. Raja Raja had at least four queens includingŌlōkamādēviyārandThiripuvānamādēviyār andat leastthreedaughters. He hada sonandThiripuvānamādēviyār andat leastthreedaughters. He hada son

Rajendra with Thiripuvānamādēviyār. His first daughter Kundavai

married Chalukya prince Vimaladithan. He had two other daughters

named Mathevalzagal andĢangamādevī. Raja Raja died in 1014 in the

Tamil month of Maka and was succeeded by Rajendra Chola I.

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MILITARY CONQUESTS

Rajaraja created a powerful standing army and a considerable navy.

A number of regiments are mentioned in theThanjavur inscriptions.

These regiments were divided into elephant troops, cavalry and

infantry andeachof theseregimentshadits own autonomyandwasinfantry andeachof theseregimentshadits own autonomyandwas

free to endow benefactions or build temples.

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EARLY CAMPAIGNS

Rajaraja began his first campaign in the eighth year of his reign. The

Pandyas, Cheras and the Sinhalas allied against the Cholas.In 994,

Rajaraja destroyed the fleet of the Chera king Bhaskara Ravi Varman

Thiruvadi (c. 978–1036) in the Kandalur War. Rajaraja defeated the

Pandyaking Amarabhujangaand capturedthe port of Virinam. ToPandyaking Amarabhujangaand capturedthe port of Virinam. To

commemorate these conquests, Rajaraja assumed the titleMummudi

Chola, a title used by Tamil kings who ruled the three kingdoms of

Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras.In 1008, Rajaraja captured Udagai from

Cheras and Rajendra Chola I led the Chola army in this battle.

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CONQUEST OF SRI LANKA

Mahinda V was the king of Sinhalese.In 991, Mahinda’s army mutinied

with help from mercenaries from Kerala with Mahinda seekingrefuge in

the southern region of Ruhuna. Rajaraja invaded Ceylon in 993. The

Thiruvalangadu copper-plate inscriptions mention that Rajaraja’s army

crossed the ocean by ships and destroyed Anuradhapura, the 1400-year-

old capital of Sinhalas. Cholas made the city of Polonnaruwaas the

capital and renamed it Jananathamangalam. Rajaraja built aSiva temple in

Pollonaruwa to commemorate the victory. Raja Raja capturedonly the

northern part of Sri Lanka while the southern part remained independent.

His son Rajendra Chola captured the island in 1017 and the Chola reign in

Sri Lanka was ended by Vijayabahu I in 1070.

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CHALUKYAN CONFLICT

In 998, Rajaraja captured the regions of Gangapadi, Nolambapadi and

Tadigaipadi (present day Karnataka). Raja Chola extinguished the

Nolambas, who were the feudatories of Ganga while conquering and

annexing Nolambapadi. The conquered provinces were originally

feudatoriesof theRashtrakutas. In 973, theRashtrakutasweredefeatedbyfeudatoriesof theRashtrakutas. In 973, theRashtrakutasweredefeatedby

the Western Chalukyas leading to direct conflict with Cholas. An

inscription of Irivabedanga Satyashraya from Dharwar describes him as a

vassal of the Western Chalukyas and acknowledges the Chola onslaught.

In the same inscription, he accuses Rajendra of having arrived with a

force of 955,000 and of having gone on rampage in Donuwara thereby

blurring the moralities of war as laid out in the Dharmasastras. ***

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*** Historians like James Heitzman and Wolfgang Schenkluhnconclude

that this confrontation displayed the degree of animosity on a personal

level between the rulers of the Chola and the Chalukya kingdoms drawing

a parallel between the enmity between the Chalukyas of Badami and the

Pallavas of Kanchi.

Therewere encountersbetweenthe Cholasand the Hoysalas, who wereTherewere encountersbetweenthe Cholasand the Hoysalas, who were

vassals of the Western Chalukyas. An inscription from the Gopalakrishna

temple at Narasipur dated to 1006 records that Rajaraja's general

Aprameya killed minister Naganna and other generals of the Hoysalas.A

similar inscription in Channapatna also describes Rajaraja defeating

the Hoysalas. ***

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*** Vengi kingdom was ruled by Jata Choda Bhima of the Eastern

Chalukyas dynasty. Jata Choda Bhima was defeated by Raja Raja and

Saktivarman was placed on the throne of Vengi. After the withdrawal of

the Chola army, Bhima captured Kanchi in 1001. Raja Raja expelled and

killed Bhima before re-establishing Saktivarman I on the throne of Vengi.

KALINGA CONQUEST

The invasion of the kingdom of Kalinga occurred after the conquest of Vengi.

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NAVAL EXPEDITION

One of the last conquests of Raja Raja was the naval conquest of the islands

of Maldives. The realization of the importance of a good navyand the

desire to neutralize the emerging Chera Naval power were probably the

reasons for the Kandalur campaign in the early days of Rajaraja’s reign.

TheCholascontrolledtheareaaroundof Bay of Bengalwith NagapattinamTheCholascontrolledtheareaaroundof Bay of Bengalwith Nagapattinam

as the main port. The Chola Navy also had played a major role inthe

invasion of Sri Lanka. The success of Raja Raja allowed his son Rajendra

Chola to lead the Chola invasion of Srivijaya, carrying out naval raids in

South-East Asia and briefly occupying Kadaram.

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CULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTSRaja Raja Chola embarked on a mission to recover the hymns after hearing

short excerpts ofThevaram in his court. He sought the help of Nambi Andar

Nambi. It is believed that by divine intervention Nambi found the presence

of scripts, in the form of cadijam leaves half eaten by white ants in a

chamber inside the second precinct in Thillai Nataraja Temple,

Chidambaram. The brahmanas (Dikshitars) in the temple opposedtheChidambaram. The brahmanas (Dikshitars) in the temple opposedthe

mission, but Rajaraja intervened by consecrating the images of the saint-

poets through the streets of Chidambaram. Rajaraja thus became to be

known asTirumurai Kanda Cholan meaning one who saved theTirumurai.

Thus far Shiva temples only had images of god forms, but afterthe advent

of Rajaraja, the images of the Nayanar saints were also placed inside the

temple. ***

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*** Nambi arranged the hymns of three saint poets Sambandar,Appar and

Sundarar as the first seven books,

Manickavasagar'sTirukovayar and Tiruvacakam as the 8th book, the 28

hymns of nine other saints as the 9th book, theTirumandiram of Tirumular

as the 10th book, 40 hymns by 12 other poets as the 10th book,Tirutotanar

Tiruvanthathi - the sacredanthathi of the laboursof the 63 nayanarsaintsTiruvanthathi - the sacredanthathi of the laboursof the 63 nayanarsaints

and added his own hymns as the 11th book. The first seven bookswere

later called asTevaram, and the whole Saiva canon, to which was added, as

the 12th book, Sekkizhar'sPeriya Puranam (1135) is wholly known

asTirumurai, the holy book. Thus Saiva literature which covers about 600

years of religious, philosophical and literary development.

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Mural depicting Raja Raja and hisguru Karuvuruvar found in theBrihadeesvara temple, Tamil Nadu,11th century.11th century.

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BRIHADISVARA TEMPLE

In 1010, Raja Raja built the Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur dedicated to

Lord Shiva. The temple and the capital acted as a center of both religious

and economic activity. It is also known asPeriya Kovil, RajaRajeswara

Temple andRajarajeswaram. It is one of the largest temples in India and is

anexampleof Dravidianarchitectureduring theCholaperiod. The templeanexampleof Dravidianarchitectureduring theCholaperiod. The temple

turned 1000 years old in 2010. The temple is part of the UNESCOWorld

Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples", with the other

two being the Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavatesvara temple.****

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*** The vimanam (temple tower) is 216 ft (66 m) high and is the tallest inthe world. The Kumbam (the apex or the bulbous structure on the top) ofthe temple is carved out of a single rock and weighs around 80 tons. Thereis a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock measuringabout 16 feet long and 13 feet high at the entrance. The entiretemplestructure is made out of granite, the nearest sources of which are about60 km to the west of temple. The temple is one of the most visited touristattractions in Tamil Nadu.

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COINSBefore the reign of Raja Raja Chola the

Chola coins had on the obverse the tiger

emblem and the fish and bow emblems of

the Pandya and Chera Dynasties and on the

reverse the name of the King. But during the

reign of Raja Raja Chola appeareda newreign of Raja Raja Chola appeareda new

type of coins. The new coins had on the

obverse the figure of the standing king and

on the reverse the seated goddess. The coins

spread over a great part of South India and

were also copied by the kings of Sri Lanka.

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INSCRIPTIONSDue to Rajaraja's desire to record his militaryachievements, he recorded the important events ofhis life in stones. An inscription in Tamil fromMulbagal in Karnataka shows hisaccomplishments as early as the 19th year. Anexcerpt from such aMeikeerthi, an inscriptionrecording great accomplishments, follows:

Rajaraja recorded all the grants made to theRajaraja recorded all the grants made to theThanjavur temple and his achievements. He alsopreserved the records of his predecessors. Aninscription of his reign found at Tirumalavadirecords an order of the king to the effect that thecentral shrine of the Vaidyanatha temple at theplace should be rebuilt and that, before pullingdown the walls, the inscriptions engraved on themshould be copied in a book. The records weresubsequently re-engraved on the walls from thebook after the rebuilding was finished.

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Summary: Raja Raja Chola I (or Rajaraja Chola I) was a renowned king who

ruled over the Chola kingdom of southern India between 985 and 1014 CE.

During his reign, the Cholas expanded beyond South India with their domains

stretching from Sri Lanka in the south to Kalinga in the north. Raja Raja Chola

also launched several naval campaigns that resulted in the capture of the

Malabar Coast as well as the Maldives and Sri Lanka.Raja Rajabuilt the

BrihadeeswararTemplein Thanjavur, oneof thelargestHindu temples. DuringBrihadeeswararTemplein Thanjavur, oneof thelargestHindu temples. During

his reign, the texts of the Tamil poets Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar were

collected and edited into one compilation called Thirumurai. He initiated a

massive project of land survey and assessment in 1000 which led to the

reorganization of the country into individual units known as valanadus. Raja

Raja Chola died in 1014 and was succeeded by his son Rajendra Chola.

THANK YOU ***